You will pay - one way or another and you can't blame me!
Greens propose interim carbon tax
- ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)Posted
Updated
Interim scheme: The Greens want carbon to be priced at $20 a tonne for two years (freefoto.uk)
The Greens are attempting to break the political deadlock over emissions trading by suggesting an interim two-year scheme with a fixed price on carbon.
Greens Senator Christine Milne is writing to the Government and the Opposition proposing a carbon price of $20 a tonne.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will soon unveil his plan to cut greenhouse gases without a trading scheme or carbon tax and there is little, if any, prospect of the Government getting its legislation through the Senate.
Senator Milne says a temporary scheme would cut emissions by about 2 per cent and give political parties time to negotiate long-term targets.
"The Greens are proposing as an interim, two-year measure, starting in July this year, that we introduce a $20 carbon price. Now that is what Professor Garnaut argued when he released his report, saying that you could do this for an interim period.
"It would give us the breathing space to be able to negotiate a rigorous target, to negotiate some of the aspects of the emissions trading scheme that we don't agree with the Government on."
There is no global climate deal and the Federal Government's legislation appears doomed. Just before it is put to the Senate again, Mr Abbott will reveal how he would cut emissions without putting a price on carbon.
That would set the election battleground, but that is about all.
Senator Milne says someone has to get things moving.
"We are living currently in a political environment where nothing is happening in Australia in terms of a carbon price and our domestic emissions are rising," she said.
"Based on the modelling done to date, the Greens believe that [the carbon price] would halt the growth in emissions, turn it around and reduce emissions by a small amount, probably in the vicinity of 2 per cent."
The Greens say their plan would generate $5 billion to compensate households, with the same amount for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Unlike Kevin Rudd's scheme, it would be in surplus from the start and there would be no compensation for the coal and electricity sectors and less assistance for high-emitting industries.
Senator Milne says she hopes Ross Garnaut, who was the Government's key climate change advisor, will endorse the strategy.
The Australian Government will not back-away from the fiasco that is 'climate-change'. Certainly it won't happen in the near future. So why, in the last ten years, has this topic become the issue of contention for ours and many other first-world-nations political agendas? Its all about money of course, it always is!
Whether or not you believe in said 'climate change', the whole shamozzle of the last three years, which has seen a laughable amount of money, tax-payer and not, a massive hypocrisy established (yes, fly 114 Aussies to Copenhagen for a farcical get-together), and the threat of world destruction unless we pay more money...umm..that one still stumps me!
Its business folks. Politics, business and money. Its always about politics, business and money. Wong may have the best interests of the climate and the planet in mind, but she doesn't have mine. Milne and Brown may feel that, as a 'Green' political party they must be seen to do something - and as the governing party wants taxation, of course they will follow suit - least path of resistance.
Well I resist.
Pricing carbon, even for the big-polluters, or taxing industry, simply shifts money around the economy. I end up paying more so that they can happily burn more Coal. And I promise you this, if you are like me...in a relationship, no children, relatively good income, no state-level financial support; you and I will be hit hard. We already are. Middle Australia will pay, and pay through the nose.
If our Government truly wanted to make a difference to GLOBAL warming - then why is our country embracing the multi-tens-of-billions of dollars in new contracts to supply the rest of the world with Coal and Natural Gas? Milne is disappointed, so where is your legislation to block this behaviour? Yep, you wouldn't dare!
Environmentally-friendly-politicians? I wouldn't want you to be my friend!
Don't accept responsibility unless you are responsible when next you offer your opinion on this whole farce. I am going out now to plant a few more trees...when did you last plant a tree Wong? Milne? Brown? Rudd? Abbott? Turnbull? Yeh right, give me a break!
Sylvestor
![Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been a key participant at the United Nations summit on climate change. [AAP]](http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200909/r439272_2116530.jpg "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been a key participant at the United Nations summit on climate change. [AAP]")
